Ever
notice in the world of entertainment, the original is best, and the sequel is
subpar? Well, with this being my second
visit to InfoComm (2011 being my first), this was no different. I was shocked about how dissimilar this one
was. I was ready for an amazing
event! I even gave out some tips about
how to get the most out of it in my previous InfoComm13 post. I was let down.

InfoComm13 from above; it looked better then it was

If
you have not noticed by the title of this website and the nature of the posts
on it, I am an audio guy. For that reason,
the first section I hit up of InfoComm13 was the audio section. I was expecting the latest and greatest of
all the pro audio equipment. What I found
was some new consoles here and there, and nothing but conference microphones.

When
I went in 2011, there were countless shotgun microphones, vocal microphones, and so
much more. This year, it was all about
wireless headsets, conference room table top microphones, and lavaliere microphone. All the major pro
audio equipment companies were there, but what they had to show was very disappointing.

After
seeing that the audio area was less than ideal, I decided to head over to the
video/digital signage area. Everyone was
LED this, projector that, and so on. The
most interesting thing was the hologram-like woman for airports was there. Talk about life-like! All she did was stand there and look
nervous! (Apparently she talked to other
people, but she ignored me).

The
display section was probably the most entertaining section of the
convention. 3M,
which I thought just made tape, had a very interesting and literal tabletop
computer. I will give them credit: there
were many large touch screen displays there, but none of them felt as smooth
and finger friendly as this one. With most
of the displays, my fingers would get stuck to the glass. However, while my friend checked out “How’s
It Sounding?” on the big screen, the glass was smooth as butter to the touch!

Remember
in my last post
about InfoComm11 when I mentioned free stuff? Last time I came home with tons of free swag. This time, I came home with about a fifth of
what I had last time. Now I know I shouldn’t
base a convention on free stuff, but come on; I am still using the pens from
the convention two years ago, yet this time, I only found three pens. As for drawings, I only managed to find ONE
place to put my business card.

However,
like that last convention, ADI
had some of the best things. Last time
they were giving away a 2011 Shelby GT500.
This time, it was a brand new Cadillac CTS-V Coupe. However, I opted for the nice shoulder bag
and fans with LED branding in the blades.
(Last time it was flashlights which I thought were more practical).

Very small amount of goodies this time

To sum it all up, I was quite unhappy with InfoComm13,
especially with the audio side. There
was not enough of what I wanted to see. Does
that mean it was bad for everyone? No,
but it was not for me. Will I be going
back next time it is in Orlando? Of
course. I am put off by this year’s
convention, but the one in 2011 was so good, it still makes up for it.